Very conflicted about this one. The first half or so was amazing. Even though I often wanted to scream at Rin. (But I suppose if she had made the right choices, there wouldn’t be a book.) I was really loving the lead up to the school and her time at Sinegard (even though she was pretty miserable). I loved the world building and everything about it. But once the school part ended, the book lost me a bit. I knew going in that the book had a strong military focus, but was actually less interested in that part once we got to it. And then we were just thrown in too many directions - like the scene with the chimei was cool, but it didn’t really fit with what was going on in the world that had been built up so far. Then the actual war part - I get that the book is showcasing the horrors of war (and pulls from historical sources), but some of the scenes/descriptions were just too brutal for me. So grotesque it made me feel a little sick. Maybe I’m too soft, but it really brought the book down for me because those parts weren't enjoyable at all. Still I guess I won't forget it. I’ll also say the book did make me do my own (admittedly light) research into the Sino-Japanese war, which I didn’t know anything about.